|
[page 185, continued:]
|
|
|
CHAPTER XXIII [[XXIV]].
ON the
twentieth of the
month,
finding it altogether impossible to subsist any longer upon the
filberts,
the use of which occasioned us the most excruciating torment, we
resolved
to make a desperate attempt at descending the southern declivity of the
hill. The face of [page 186:] the precipice was
here
of the softest species of soapstone, although nearly perpendicular
throughout
its whole extent (a depth of a hundred and fifty feet at the least),
and
in many places even overarching. After long search we discovered a
narrow
ledge about twenty feet below the brink of the gulf; upon this Peters
contrived
to leap, with what assistance I could render him by means of our
pocket-handkerchiefs
tied together. With somewhat more difficulty I also got down; and we
then
saw the possibility of descending the whole way by the process in which
we had clambered up from the chasm when we had been buried by the fall
of the hill — that is, by cutting steps in the face of the soapstone
with
our knives. The extreme hazard of the attempt can scarcely be
conceived;
but, as there was no other resource, we determined to undertake it.
Upon the ledge where we stood there
grew some
filbert-bushes;
and to one of these we made fast an end of our rope of handkerchiefs.
The
other end being tied round Peters's waist, I lowered him down over the
edge of the precipice until the handkerchiefs were stretched tight. He
now proceeded to dig a deep hole in the soapstone (as far in as eight
or
ten inches), sloping away the rock above to the height of a foot, or
thereabout,
so as to allow of his driving, with the butt of a pistol, a tolerably
strong
peg into the levelled surface. I then drew him up for about four feet,
when he made a hole similar to the one below, driving in a peg as
before,
and having thus a resting-place for both feet and hands. I now
unfastened
the handkerchiefs from the bush, throwing him the end, which he tied to
the peg in the uppermost hole, letting himself down gently to a station
about three feet lower than he had yet been, that is, to the full
extent
of the handkerchiefs. Here he dug another hole, and drove another peg.
He then drew himself up, so as to rest his feet in the hole just cut,
taking
hold with his hands upon the peg in the one above. It was now necessary
to untie the handkerchiefs from the topmost peg, with the view of
fastening
them to the second; and here he found that an error had been committed
in cutting [page 186:] the holes at so great a
distance
apart. However, after one or two unsuccessful and dangerous attempts at
reaching the knot (having to hold on with his left hand while he
laboured
to undo the fastening with his right), he at length cut the string,
leaving
six inches of it affixed to the peg. Tying the handkerchiefs now to the
second peg, he descended to a station below the third, taking care not
to go too far down. By these means (means which I should never have
conceived
of myself, and for which we were indebted altogether to Peters's
ingenuity
and resolution) my companion finally succeeded, with the occasional aid
of projections in the cliff, in reaching the bottom without accident.
It was some time before I could
summon sufficient
resolution to follow him; but I did at length attempt it. Peters had
taken
off his shirt before descending, and this, with my own, formed the rope
necessary for the adventure. After throwing down the musket found in
the
chasm, I fastened this rope to the bushes, and let myself down rapidly,
striving, by the vigour of my movements, to banish the trepidation
which
I could overcome in no other manner. This answered sufficiently well
for
the first four or five steps; but presently I found my imagination
growing
terribly excited by thoughts of the vast depth yet to be descended, and
the precarious nature of the pegs and soapstone holes which were my
only
support. It was in vain I endeavoured to banish these reflections, and
to keep my eyes steadily bent upon the flat surface of the cliff before
me. The more earnestly I struggled not to think, the more
intensely
vivid became my conceptions, and the more horribly distinct. At length
arrived that crisis of fancy, so fearful in all similar cases, the
crisis
in which we begin to anticipate the feelings with which we shall
fall — to picture to ourselves the sickness, and dizziness, and the
last
struggle, and the half swoon, and the final bitterness of the rushing
and
headlong descent. And now I found these fancies creating their own
realities,
and all imagined horrors crowding upon me in fact. I felt my knees
strike
violently together, while my fingers were gradually yet certainly [page
188:] relaxing their grasp. There was a ringing in my ears,
and I said, "This is my knell of death!" And now I was consumed with
the
irrepressible desire of looking below. I could not, I would not,
confine
my glances to the cliff; and, with a wild, indefinable emotion half of
horror, half of a relieved oppression, I threw my vision far down into
the abyss. For one moment my fingers clutched convulsively upon their
hold,
while, with the movement, the faintest possible idea of ultimate escape
wandered, like a shadow, through my mind — in the next my whole soul
was
pervaded with a longing to fall; a desire, a yearning, a
passion
utterly uncontrollable. I let go at once my grasp upon the peg, and,
turning
half round from the precipice, remained tottering for an instant
against
its naked face. But now there came a spinning of the brain; a
shrill-sounding
and phantom voice screamed within my ears; a dusky, fiendish, and filmy
figure stood immediately beneath me; and, sighing, I sunk down with a
bursting
heart, and plunged within its arms.
I had swooned, and Peters had caught
me as I
fell.
He had observed my proceedings from his station at the bottom of the
cliff;
and, perceiving my imminent danger, had endeavoured to inspire me with
courage by every suggestion he could devise; although my confusion of
mind
had been so great as to prevent my hearing what he said, or being
conscious
that he had even spoken to me at all. At length, seeing me totter, he
hastened
to ascend to my rescue, and arrived just in time for my preservation.
Had
I fallen with my full weight, the rope of linen would inevitably have
snapped,
and I should have been precipitated into the abyss; as it was, he
contrived
to let me down gently, so as to remain suspended without danger until
animation
returned. This was in about fifteen minutes. On recovery, my
trepidation
had entirely vanished; I felt a new being, and, with some little
further
aid from my companion, reached the bottom also in safety.
We now found ourselves not far from the ravine
which
had proved the tomb of our friends, and to the [page 189:]
southward of the spot where the hill had fallen. The place was one of
singular
wildness, and its aspect brought to my mind the descriptions given by
travellers
of those dreary regions marking the site of degraded Babylon. Not to
speak
of the ruins of the disruptured cliff, which formed a chaotic barrier
in
the vista to the northward, the surface of the ground in every other
direction
was strewn with huge tumuli, apparently the wreck of some gigantic
structures
of art; although, in detail, no semblance of art could be detected.
Scoria
were abundant, and large shapeless blocks of the black granite,
intermingled
with others of marl,* and both granulated with
metal. Of vegetation
there
were no traces whatsoever throughout the whole of the desolate area
within
sight. Several immense scorpions were seen, and various reptiles not
elsewhere
to be found in the high latitudes.
As food was our most immediate
object, we
resolved
to make our way to the seacoast, distant not more than half a mile,
with
a view of catching turtle, several of which we had observed from our
place
of concealment on the hill. We had proceeded some hundred yards,
threading
our route cautiously between the huge rocks and tumuli, when, upon
turning
a corner, five savages sprung upon us from a small cavern, felling
Peters
to the ground with a blow from a club. As he fell the whole party
rushed
upon him to secure their victim, leaving me time to recover from my
astonishment.
I still had the musket, but the barrel had received so much injury in
being
thrown from the precipice that I cast it aside as useless, preferring
to
trust my pistols, which had been carefully preserved in order. With
these
I advanced upon the assailants, firing one after the other in quick
succession.
Two savages fell, and one, who was in the act of thrusting a spear into
Peters, sprung to his feet without accomplishing his purpose. My
companion
being thus released, we had no further difficulty. He had his pistols
also,
but prudently declined using them, confiding [page 190:]
in his great personal strength, which far exceeded that of any person I
have ever known. Seizing a club from one of the savages who had fallen,
he dashed out the brains of the three who remained, killing each
instantaneously
with a single blow of the weapon, and leaving us completely masters of
the field.
So rapidly had these events passed,
that we could
scarcely believe in their reality, and were standing over the bodies of
the dead in a species of stupid contemplation, when we were brought to
recollection by the sound of shouts in the distance. It was clear that
the savages had been alarmed by the firing, and that we had little
chance
of avoiding discovery. To regain the cliff, it would be necessary to
proceed
in the direction of the shouts; and even should we succeed in arriving
at its base, we should never be able to ascend it without being seen.
Our
situation was one of the greatest peril, and we were hesitating in
which
path to commence a flight, when one of the savages whom I had shot, and
supposed dead, sprang briskly to his feet, and attempted to make his
escape.
We overtook him, however, before he had advanced many paces, and were
about
to put him to death, when Peters suggested that we might derive some
benefit
from forcing him to accompany us in our attempt to escape. We therefore
dragged him with us, making him understand that we would shoot him if
he
offered resistance. In a few minutes he was perfectly submissive, and
ran
by our sides as we pushed in among the rocks, making for the seashore.
So far, the irregularities of the
ground we had
been
traversing hid the sea, except at intervals, from our sight, and, when
we first had it fairly in view, it was, perhaps, two hundred yards
distant.
As we emerged into the open beach we saw, to our great dismay, an
immense
crowd of the natives pouring from the village, and from all visible
quarters
of the island, making towards us with gesticulations of extreme fury,
and
howling like wild beasts. We were upon the point of turning upon our
steps,
and trying to secure a retreat among the fastnesses of the rougher
ground,
when I discovered the bows of [page 191:] two
canoes
projecting from behind a large rock which ran out into the water.
Towards
these we now ran with all speed, and, reaching them, found them
unguarded,
and without any other freight than three of the large Gallipago turtles
and the usual supply of paddles for sixty rowers. We instantly took
possession
of one of them, and, forcing our captive on board, pushed out to sea
with
all the strength we could command.
We had not made, however, more than
fifty yards
from
the shore before we became sufficiently calm to perceive the great
oversight
of which we had been guilty in leaving the other canoe in the power of
the savages, who, by this time, were not more than twice as far from
the
beach as ourselves, and were rapidly advancing to the pursuit. No time
was now to be lost. Our hope was, at best, a forlorn one, but we had
none
other. It was very doubtful whether, with the utmost exertion, we could
get back in time to anticipate them in taking possession of the canoe;
but yet there was a chance that we could. We might save ourselves if we
succeeded, while not to make the attempt was to resign ourselves to
inevitable
butchery.
The canoe was modelled with the bow
and stern
alike,
and, in place of turning it round, we merely changed our position in
paddling.
As soon as the savages perceived this they redoubled their yells, as
well
as their speed, and approached with inconceivable rapidity. We pulled,
however, with all the energy of desperation, and arrived at the
contested
point before more than one of the natives had attained it. This man
paid
dearly for his superior agility, Peters shooting him through the head
with
a pistol as he approached the shore. The foremost among the rest of his
party were probably some twenty or thirty paces distant as we seized
upon
the canoe. We at first endeavoured to pull her into the deep water,
beyond
the reach of the savages, but, finding her too firmly aground, and
there
being no time to spare, Peters, with one or two heavy strokes from the
butt of the musket, succeeded in dashing out a large portion of the bow
and of one side. We then pushed off. Two [page 192:]
of the natives by this time had got hold of our boat, obstinately
refusing
to let go, until we were forced to despatch them with our knives. We
were
now clear off, and making great way out to sea. The main body of the
savages,
upon reaching the broken canoe, set up the most tremendous yell of rage
and disappointment conceivable. In truth, from everything I could see
of
these wretches, they appeared to be the most wicked, hypocritical,
vindictive,
bloodthirsty, and altogether fiendish race of men upon the face of the
globe. It is clear we should have had no mercy had we fallen into their
hands. They made a mad attempt at following us in the fractured canoe,
but, finding it useless, again vented their rage in a series of hideous
vociferations, and rushed up into the hills.
We were thus relieved from immediate
danger, but
our situation was still sufficiently gloomy. We knew that four canoes
of
the kind we had were at one time in the possession of the savages, and
were not aware of the fact (afterward ascertained from our captive)
that
two of these had been blown to pieces in the explosion of the Jane Guy.
We calculated, therefore, upon being yet pursued, as soon as our
enemies
could get round to the bay (distant about three miles) where the boats
were usually laid up. Fearing this, we made every exertion to leave the
island behind us, and went rapidly through the water, forcing the
prisoner
to take a paddle. In about half an hour, when we had gained, probably,
five or six miles to the southward, a large fleet of the flat-bottomed
canoes or rafts were seen to emerge from the bay, evidently with the
design
of pursuit. Presently they put back, despairing to overtake us. |
|
|
|
|
|